News and Updates from Perlmutter & McGuinness

It’s not unusual for a losing party to have plenty of negative things to say about a jury verdict. But what is the difference between an unpleasant, unwanted or bad verdict and a repugnant verdict? Simply put, a repugnant verdict is one where the defendant is found guilty to the top charge, but not to a lesser-included […]

Plea bargains for first-offense DWI cases will typically include a conditional discharge, one of the conditions being the defendant’s participation in the New York State Drinking Driver Program (DDP). The DDP consists of a set of classes, totaling a minimum of 15 hours, which are meant to deter the defendant from committing future violations by […]

The simple answer is: yes, you may be able to sue if the police have violated your constitutional rights. Let’s explore that further. In New York, we rely on police officers and other state law enforcement officials to enhance our quality of life, enforce the laws of New York and the United States, preserve peace […]

If you’ve ever been charged with a crime in New York, one of your primary concerns will be how it affects your record. What information is accessible to employers and the public? What control do you have over the information included in your records? Can you seal your record to prevent that information from getting into […]

Even a good student can find him or herself on the “wrong” side of the law. When that happens, it doesn’t just affect your record–it affects your eligibility to receive student loans. Let’s explore further: How can a criminal conviction affect my student loan eligibility to receive Federal Aid? A criminal conviction can have a serious impact […]

In certain cases, the law requires that mandatory minimum sentencing be applied. In this article, we’ll explore what that means and under what circumstances it might apply to a case. Let’s start with the basic question: What is mandatory minimum sentencing? Mandatory minimum sentencing laws require judges to deliver sentences of a certain length for […]

In movies and television shows, you frequently see that the victim of a crime deciding to “press charges,” or later wanting to “drop the charges.” These are handy plot devices used to create twists and turns in the storyline, but in reality victims often have much less control over pressing criminal charges and, in fact, over the case […]

I have been arrested for a DWI or DUI offense. Can I still travel to Canada? If you have been convicted of a DWI or DUI offense in New York or elsewhere in the United States, you may be refused entry into Canada on the grounds of criminal inadmissibility. It is important to understand how criminal […]

When you are convicted of a DWI or DWAI in New York, your driver’s license is suspended. Under certain circumstances, however, you may be granted a conditional license which will give you limited driving permissions. The Difference Between DWI and DWAI First, let’s explain some of these terms. As you probably know, DWI is the […]

Simply put, police officers are only legally allowed to arrest you when they have “probable cause” to show that you have committed an offense. In order to show probable cause for an arrest, police officers must be able to show that there were objective circumstances and facts that lead them to believe that you had […]